We're having an odd set of issues with our new print server. Current print server is a 32-bit Windows 2003 server. Our new print server is on a 2012 server (not R2). I've installed the latest 32 and 64-bit drivers from the manufacturers on the printers on the server. Our printers are mostly Konicas, with some older HP LaserJets thrown into the mix.

We run Windows 7 Pro 64-bit desktops, for the most part. We have a few 32-bit Win7 PCs on the floor. They've already been set up to install network drivers via local GP by allowing non-admin users with specific GUIDs ﻿and disabling point and print restrictions. "Everyone" has Print and View Server rights. A few issues:

Installing a network printer on a PC is s-l-o-w. It can take 2 minutes or more for the driver to download and install. I'm used to the install being almost immediate.

When I try to install a printer to a 64-bit machine, I get a "do you tust this driver?" warning (UAC is disabled), the driver slowly downloads, but then fails at the ends with a "Windows cannot connect to the printer. Access is denied." error.

Nothing shows up in the event viewer.

It won't print to the HP printers at all, even with the native drivers. Test prints go into the queue, disappear as if they printed, but nothing ever prints.

The kicker is that 32-bit PCs have no trouble installing the printers.

﻿Can you print and test from the server itself? then the queue is not a problem﻿

To the Konicas? Yes. To the HPs? No.

﻿Can you print directly connected to the printer from the Win 7 64-bit (set up a port with the ip address and print)?

We only do this with the HPs, but yes.

﻿Then can you use that same driver to connect to the print server and print?

The PC I'm using to troubleshoot already has one of the Konica drivers on it for a printerfrom the old print server. That network printer on the new server will install. Printers that don't have their drivers already installed on the PC won't install from the server.

﻿That would tell you what the proper driver is and where the problem is.

The failure to install tells me that it's a permissions issue, but as far as I can tell, the permissions on the server are correct. It still doesn't explain why the 32-bit version of the same driver will install, the very slow driver download or why the HPs empty the queue without printing.

Let me clarify that the PCs are already printing to network printers and non-admins have previously installed the print drivers.

I went back and ran this test: ﻿Can you print directly connected to the printer from the Win 7 64-bit (set up a port with the ip address and print)?﻿

﻿If I install by IP and manually install the driver from same driver as installed on the server, yes, I can print. If I then try and install the printer from the new server using a different driver (PCL 5e vs PCL 6), the install fails as usual. However, if I then install the printer from the new print server, using the same PCL version already installed, the printer installs.

So, it definitely smells of a permissions issue, which makes no sense, since the non-admin user can and has already installed the printer.